Atiba Hutchinson undergoes meniscus surgery: PSV manager expresses “disappointment”

Canadian soccer fans are waiting on the status of injured midfielder Atiba Hutchinson. A full prognosis on Hutchinson’s injured knee is expected this week.

Last week, PSV Eindhoven manager Fred Rutten told the club’s website that it was “a huge disappointment” to see the Canadian player of the year return from the Gold Cup with a knee injury.

Hutchinson was scheduled to undergo surgery on a damaged meniscus Monday. The club had promised to have a more detailed prognosis this week.

“He will undergo surgery on Monday”, Rutten told PSV’s website. “He will be ruled out at least four to six weeks and will miss the start of the season. But he could also be out for three months. We’ll just have to wait and see. The medical staff will assess his situation after he has undergone surgery.”

It’s been a rough time for Hutchinson; not only is he shelved by the knee injury, but his club is in dire financial straits. Eindhoven city council will vote this week on a 48-million Euro bailout package for the club, which is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. In the meantime, PSV has been forced to lower its expectations on the transfer market, and isn’t expected to come close to contending for the Dutch title this season. In fact, the cynic would suggest that PSV could pull a River Plate this season — a glamorous club going down a division.

Already, the team had to sell start winger Balazs Dzsudzsak to Russia’s Anzhi Makhachkala — the Hungarian international was in the Dutch league’s top five in both goals and assists last season. C

anada is set to begin World Cup qualifying in the September-November window later this year. If Hutchinson is expected to miss the August start to the Dutch league season, it will be a stretch to see him in a Canada jersey in September. And, of course, the club-country relationship is always strained when the player returns from international duty with a serious injury.